Portlet Factory, Version 6.1.2
Excel Export builder
This builder lets you export table-like XML data as a Microsoft Excel file.
The XML data that is used by the Excel Export builder can be obtained from a page location or an indirect reference in your model. If the data is exported from a page location, the builder makes its best attempt to export the data in a way that preserves the look and feel of the data displayed at the specified page location.
Note: This builder is not designed for bulk data handling. Do not use a Microsoft Excel file as a primary data source. Use this builder for reporting only.
You can use the Excel Export builder to derive localized and readable header labels. In a Localized Resource builder, enable the Create Lookup Table input and, in this builder, use the Header Lookup Table input to select the lookup table. When XML is exported, one of two events happen:
- The user's browser automatically launches Excel and displays the exported spreadsheet.
- The user's browser displays a Save As dialog and gives them an option to save the exported file.
Which event the user sees depends upon how the user's browser is configured and whether or not Excel is installed on the computer.
If the downloaded Excel document does not open, change your configuration. In Windows Explorer, click Tools > Folder Options > File Types > XLS > Advanced. Under Actions, click Open, set Confirm open after download, and clear Browse in same window. Then, click OK.
Note:
- Make sure this builder is not applied to the same tag on a page as the Print Page Contents builder. Both of these builders write the ID attribute to the tag, so that, whichever builder is placed last, overwrites the ID attribute provided by the former builder, making the former builder inoperable. If both builders are needed for the same area of the page, wrap one tag by another tag and apply the builders to the different tags.
- When the page location specified on the Excel Export builder is placed in an HTML form, the form generated by Excel Export builder is nested within the existing form, which causes the export function to not work. To solve this problem, make sure the page location specified by the Excel Export builder is not within a form.
- Placing this builder on a page that is accessed through SSL or from an iSeries V5R3 server causes runtime errors. To fix this problem, set the following property to true in the WEB-INF/config/override.properties file. (You might need to create this file.)
com.bowstreet.ExcelExport.caching.headers.useCustomCachingHeaders=trueYou can also use this setting along with the following properties to set additional HTTP headers.
com.bowstreet.ExcelExport.caching.headers.Cache-Control=no translate com.bowstreet.ExcelExport.caching.headers.Pragma=no translate
Builder limitations
- Excel installation required for viewing
- The builder works in conjunction with Excel for viewing exported data. A copy of Excel must be installed on those computers where a user wishes to view the exported content as an Excel spreadsheet.
- Formulas and charts
- Since the source data used for export does not contain any Excel metadata (for example, formulas and charting) the exported Excel spreadsheet will contain only data and formatting that can be determined by the builder from the source XML (page location or indirect reference).
- Microsoft Office Excel View 2003
- HTML file written by the Excel Export builder cannot be read by Microsoft Office Excel View 2003. You see an alert box with the message Unable to open file type.
Parent topic: Builder help
- About using the builder call editor
The builder call editor allows you to specify all the input values to a builder call.
- Locating control builder calls on pages
Each page location technique results in the generation of a Page Location string that determines on what pages, and where on those pages, the control builder calls are added.
- Excel Export builder inputs
This topic describes the inputs for the Excel Export builder.
- Objects the Excel Export builder creates
This topic describes the artifacts, such as LJOs and variables, that are created by the Excel Export builder.
- About formatting data for export into an Excel workbook
This builder requires that exported content be structured as an HTML table so that it can accurately transform rows and columns in the table into corresponding rows and columns in the exported Excel spreadsheet.
- About exporting and viewing data when Excel is not installed
When XML is exported, either the user's browser will automatically launch Excel and display the exported spreadsheet or the user's browser will display a Save As dialog.
- XML element handling
When export data is taken from an indirect reference, that reference must provide XML that is structured as an HTML table.
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